ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, December 26, 1995 TAG: 9512260080
SECTION: BOWL GUIDE PAGE: BG-2 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
From sour to sweet. That's the story of Virginia Tech's 1995 football season.
When Tech stumbled out of the starting gate 0-2 in September, not even the most die-hard Hokies could have imagined they'd be booking New Year's Eve reservations for the 62nd Sugar Bowl.
``If somebody had told me when we were 0-2 that we'd end up in the Sugar Bowl, I'd probably laughed in their face,'' said William Yarborough, a senior free safety for Tech.
Well, nobody's laughing now. After ripping off a school-record nine consecutive victories in a season to close the schedule, 13th-ranked Tech (9-2) and its loyal following are preparing to hold their next party on Bourbon Street.
There wasn't enough Jack Daniels in New Orleans to have made anyone fall for that one three months ago. After opening the season with back-to-back home losses to Boston College and Cincinnati, the Hokies appeared destined for the outhouse, not the penthouse.
``Everything turned after we were 0-2,'' said Tech coach Frank Beamer, whose club faces ninth-ranked Texas (10-1-1) in the Sugar Bowl.
``I'll never forget that week [following the 16-0 loss to Cincinnati]. There wasn't any finger-pointing. It was a bad feeling, but it wasn't like a helpless feeling. I feel like all the players and coaches knew we had a good football team ... we just had to play better.''
With its back pinned against the ropes, Tech came out swinging the next week against Miami. The Hokies came up with a 13-7 knockout punch that saved their season.
``Believe it or not,'' said Beamer, ``I felt very good going into that game. Nervous, but good. There was just something about this football team. We certainly weren't as bad as everyone thought.''
The conquest of Miami stoked a fire under Tech. From that point, the Hokies simply got hotter and hotter, torching everything that moved in their path.
Sparked by a defense that ultimately would finish No.1 in NCAA Division I-A against the run and No.5 in average points against, Tech started a massive bonfire that has yet to be extinguished.
``When we were 0-2,'' Yarborough said, ``we looked at ourselves and said, `Hey, we've got to get this thing straight, get this team together. We don't know what it is, but we've got to find out what's wrong and fix it.'
``After the win over Miami, the season just took off from there. It just flew by ... and it flew by with a whole lot of victories.''
A dramatic 36-29 comeback victory over archrival Virginia in Charlottesville on Nov.18 applied the exclamation point to Tech's amazing about-face.
When it was all over, Tech had laid claim to the Big East Football Conference championship, the school's first league title in football since capturing the Southern Conference crown in 1963.
Although it had beaten Miami on the field, Tech's bowl destination wasn't solved until two days before the Dec.3 Bowl Alliance selections.
On Nov.1, Miami, which had tied Tech for the Big East title at 6-1, was placed on NCAA probation. The announcement sealed Tech's first major bowl bid in 103 seasons of football.
Now it's on to the Sugar Bowl. Talk about sweet.
``I know Northwestern [10-1 Big Ten champion heading to Rose Bowl] has been the story of college football this season,'' said Beamer, ``but I really feel we're a story, too.
``We're very similar to Northwestern. They just did it in one year, while it's taken us three years. We started out pretty low ourselves and worked our way right on up.
``Two years ago, we went to the Independence Bowl. Last year, we went to a little bigger bowl, the Gator. Now it's the Sugar.''
Tech whipped Indiana 45-20 in the 1993 Independence Bowl, but got stomped 45-23 by Tennessee in last year's Gator Bowl.
While last year's Hokies were on a downward spiral heading to the Gator, it's just the opposite tune for this year's club.
This time, Tech really has a chance. The Tech-Texas matchup, according to the early oddsmakers, is a tossup.
Beamer said he loves taking this team to the biggest happening in the school's athletics history.
``When you kind of get in the big dance, the big show, sometimes you're not sure if you're strong enough to hang in there,'' he said. ``But I'm going to tell you, this team right here, I feel good about. I think these guys can close the deal.''
For Hokies everywhere, nothing could be sweeter.
NOTE: Please see microfilm for statistics.
LENGTH: Medium: 89 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: MIKE HEFFNER/Staff. Dwayne Thomas (42) and the Hokiesby CNBturned around their season with a victory over Miami. Graphic: Chart
by staff.
RANDY KING STAFF WRITER